CONTACT: Rubenstein Communications Inc., Public Relations

NEW YORK, NY (April 9, 2013) – The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum has been awarded one of America’s Historical and Cultural Organizations Implementation Grants in the amount of $260,000 for its long-term exhibition “City at Sea: USS Intrepid,” including plans to bring to life, for museum visitors, nine restored historic spaces aboard the famed vessel.

205 projects across the nation received grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to support museums, libraries, historic places, and other organizations that produce public programs in the humanities.  Applications are peer reviewed by a panel of experts, then recommended to and ultimately chosen by the NEH. 

“We are thrilled to receive this grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities in support of the “City at Sea” project,” stated Susan Marenoff-Zausner, President of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.  “The funding will help us protect, preserve and interpret these history-rich environments and offer expanded educational experiences for all who visit the museum.” 

Added Jessica Williams, Curator of History at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, “‘City at Sea’ will create meaningful connections between our visitors and the men who lived and worked on board Intrepid.  We are grateful to NEH for supporting our efforts to bring their stories to life.”

“City at Sea: USS Intrepid” is an engaging and interactive self-guided exhibition that examines life at sea for the ship’s crew within the very spaces where they lived, worked and carried out Intrepid’s historic missions. The funding from NEH will allow the museum to expand the exhibit and introduce dynamic interpretive content within nine restored historic spaces aboard the aircraft carrier Intrepid, including the island, mess and galley, anchor chain room, Combat Information Center, pilot ready room and berthing areas.  The exhibition will utilize Intrepid’s restored historic spaces to educate visitors about the history of Intrepid and its role in twentieth-century history, bring these historic spaces to life through first-person accounts from former crew members, and develop an immersive, interactive experience that encourages visitors to explore and learn from the ship’s evocative environments through interactive storytelling stations, interpretive text panels and audio programs installed throughout the ship. The interpretive content developed for the exhibition will also be available in a web-based exhibition, which will be supported by the Intrepid Museum.

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency created in 1965. It is one of the largest funders of humanities programs in the United States.  Because democracy demands wisdom, NEH serves and strengthens our republic by promoting excellence in the humanities and conveying the lessons of history to all Americans. The Endowment accomplishes this mission by awarding grants for top-rated proposals examined by panels of independent, external reviewers.  NEH grants strengthen teaching and learning in schools and colleges, facilitate research and original scholarship, provide opportunities for lifelong learning, preserve and provide access to cultural and educational resources, and strengthen the institutional base of the humanities.

Now home of the Space Shuttle Enterprise, the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum complex includes the 900-foot-long aircraft carrier Intrepid; the guided missile submarine Growler; and an extensive collection of 27 aircraft including the A-12 Blackbird, the fastest plane in the world, and the British Airways Concorde, the fastest commercial aircraft in the world. Guests can experience areas of the ship including the Flight Deck, Hangar Deck, fo’c’sle (commonly known as the anchor chain room), new multimedia presentations and exhibit collections, interactive educational stations and a state-of-the-art public pier.  Guests to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum also can experience the 12,240 square-foot interactive Exploreum – which contains a variety of hands-on exhibits – that teaches guests about the different properties of the sea, air, space and living at sea as each relates to the ship Intrepid. In the Exploreum, guests can experience a flight simulator, transmit messages using Morse code, sit on the bunk of a crewmember, learn how the Intrepid turned salt water into fresh water and perform various tasks while wearing space gloves.